A medical body area network (BAN) refers to a low rate (e.g., less than 1 Mbps), very low-power (e.g., less than 3 mA), very short-range (e.g., less than 3 meters) wireless technology that is specifically designed to be used in medical applications, such as digital band-aids and pacemakers. As an example, BAN technology could be implemented with digital band-aids to measure vital statistics and wirelessly transfer the information to a larger network for further processing. Further, BAN technology could be implemented with pacemakers to enable doctors to fine tune the device after implantation and to extract information associated with cardiac events. The implementation of a new wireless technology, such as BAN, is not trivial.